eco on the AI Task Force: Ambitious AI Targets Must Not Be Undermined by Infrastructure Bottlenecks

Berlin, 2 November 2026 - eco - Association of the Internet Industry regards the findings of the German federal government's AI Task Force, presented today at the 2026 Digital Summit, as an important step towards strengthening Germany's competitiveness in the field of artificial intelligence. The focus on industrial AI, the development of Germany's own technological capabilities and cooperation with international partners are particularly welcome. In eco's view, it is now crucial that the announced measures are accompanied by innovation-friendly regulation and improved investment conditions.

"The task force is addressing the right issues. Germany has great potential, particularly in the field of industrial AI. AI is already generating more than EUR 120 billion in turnover. However, for this value creation to continue to grow and new business models to emerge, companies need not only access to high-performance technologies, but also legal certainty, less bureaucracy and high-performance digital infrastructure. The German federal government must now ensure that its ambitions translate into investment," explains Alexander Rabe, eco's Managing Director.

Data Centres: Expansion Targets Set, Key Hurdles Remain

The targets for digital infrastructure are particularly ambitious: by 2030, AI data centre capacity in Germany is set to increase by 300 per cent compared with 2025. The government aims to reduce the time from submitting an application to bringing a data centre into operation to a maximum of two and a half years. In addition, at least one European AI gigafactory is planned for Germany.

However, the German federal government had already announced a fourfold increase in AI computing capacity in its data centre strategy adopted in March. The key hurdles to implementation remain.

For instance, the Alliance for the Strengthening of Digital Infrastructures in Germany, founded under the umbrella of eco, has criticised the planned amendment to the German Energy Efficiency Act. Despite some improvements, the draft act retains a rigid power usage effectiveness (PUE) target of 1.2 for new data centres. This fails to take sufficient account of the gradual increase in utilisation of new facilities and may disadvantage even efficiently designed data centres during their initial operating phase. The requirements for waste heat utilisation must also be better aligned with the actual availability of local heating networks and heat consumers.

Another bottleneck remains connection to the electricity grid. Although the grid connection package provides for more transparent allocation procedures, the proposed option to subsequently reduce previously committed connection capacity in the event of low utilisation jeopardises the long-term planning of data centres that are gradually expanding their capacity. Further challenges include electricity prices that are high by international standards, a lack of binding grid connection commitments and lengthy approval procedures.

"The German federal government wants to quadruple AI computing capacity. This is a very good approach, but anyone who takes digital sovereignty seriously must establish practical requirements under the German Energy Efficiency Act, ensure reliable grid connections through the grid connection package and create the conditions for competitive electricity prices. Otherwise, the AI data centres that Europe urgently needs will not be built in Germany," warns Rabe.

In the view of the eco Association, the German federal government must therefore consistently align the ongoing legislative processes with its own expansion targets. The political objectives are already in place in the form of the data centre strategy and the findings of the AI Task Force. The priority now is to remove specific barriers to investment and harness and promote Germany's existing potential.

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